A Year in the Life of Temperance Brennan
by GuinvereRogue
Summary: Temperance Brennan has been asked by her publisher to type up a little something about herself for an online publication called The Boneyard Times dedicated to the Boneyard at the Official Fox Forum.


(Author's note : I took a few small liberties, but tried to stick to the canon of the show as much as possible. Enjoy, and feel free to comment. I did it purely out of the enjoyment of the process, and used parts of documentary film clips of Kathy Reichs as well as Reichs' fiction writing and everything that's happened with Temperance Brennan on "Bones" this past season for inspiration here. There are spoilers if you have not seen Season One yet. )

7-16-06

"A Year in the Life of Dr. Temperance Brennan"

Hello. My name is Temperance Brennan. My publisher asked me to respond to some questions for "The Boneyard Times", an online community publication. But then I sent her my answers and she returned them. Apparently, my answers were too brief. She asked me to just type something up about myself and about the past year or so of my life. So this is what I came up with. I hope it interests you, the readers of "The Boneyard Times".

I was born in 1976 in Ohio.

I earned my PhD in Forensic Anthropology from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois in 1997. I began working for the Jeffersonian Institution Medico-Legal Laboratory in 1998.

I've also written a New York best-selling crime mystery novel entitled "Bred in the Bone" about a fictional forensic anthropologist named Dr. Kathy Reichs. I am currently editing my second manuscript. The cases I work inspire me to write novels that are rich in science. I hope people who read my books will come away feeling like they have learned something. Anyone claiming that my characters in my books are based on people I know in real life is mistaken. Any similarities are purely coincidental. And contrary to what a certain F.B.I. agent might say, Agent Andrew Lister in my book, in particular, is a work of complete fiction and the on-again off-again romantic relationship that Agent Lister and Dr. Reichs are having in no way whatsoever mirrors my own life.

I am currently single. Never been married, have no children and do not plan to have any.

My family history is... complicated. Since some of the press have already gotten a hold of some information regarding my past, I might as well set the record straight on a couple of things.

The names I knew my mother and father by were Matthew and Christine Brennan. My brother's name is Russ Brennan.

But... I recently discovered that those were not their real names. Temperance Brennan is not even my birth name.

My mother's real name was Ruth Keenan. I still don't know her maiden name. My father's real name was Max Keenan. My brother's name was Kyle Keenan, and mine was Joy Keenan.

I'm choosing to continue to go by Temperance Brennan. I still haven't decided what to do about my "real" name.

I'm a board certified forensic anthropologist, currently employed by the Jeffersonian Institution's Medico-Legal Laboratory in Washington, D.C. As well as identifying remains of United States war dead, I also am in charge of identifying remains that are brought to the Medico-Legal lab. There is a basement full of skeletal remains I have not been able to attach positive identifications to. My Graduate Assistant, Zach Addy, calls bone storage "Limbo". My mother's skeletal remains were recently brought up from limbo, and that's when my team and I positively identified her. The case of her murder and the disappearance of my father are still being investigated and I'm not allowed, by law, to discuss the particulars.

My team at the Jeffersonian consists of a very interesting group of people. Dr. Jack Hodgins is what he, himself, refers to as the "bug and slime" guy. Angela Montenegro is the forensic artist. She's invented a program of graphic simulation she's nicknamed "The Angelator". Zach Addy is currently my Graduate Assistant during his work on his doctoral thesis. Dr. Daniel Goodman is the director of the museum, and also draws upon his archaeological background to help us with cases.

Angela is my best friend. I've never been able to open up to anyone the way I can with her. Not to mention the fact that I feel like she can see right through me and know all my secrets before I even share them aloud. She's wanted to quit this job so many times. She doesn't have the personality structure that a lot of the rest of us have who work in the lab. She's more sensitive and is deeply affected by working with death. But so far, I've been able to convince her to stay. I'd be lost without her, quite frankly.

I'm often contracted out to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the F.B.I., for work on homicides. At first, I was wary of this arrangement, and my instincts proved to be right when the agent in charge of the first investigation I served on failed me miserably. I told him my findings. His flippant and disrespectful attitude towards me and what I represented, which was science, came through in his decision to ignore my findings. I was later proven right. But I refused to ever work a case with him again.

His name is Special Agent Seeley Booth.

Once I'd returned from a two month trip to Guatemala to do Human Rights work with the Forensic Anthropological Foundation of Guatemala, or FAFG, team to help uncover victims of genocide who had been buried in a mass grave, I returned to Washington, D.C. Special Agent Booth "arranged" to pick me up at the airport. After some "discussion", he offered me an olive branch. That's what he called it. I call it desperation.

I'm one of only 55 Board Certified forensic anthropologists in the world. My expertise and knowledge are in high demand because of my background in both archaeology and anthropology. I help identify victims when the bodies are mummified, burned beyond recognition, dismembered, or are in a state where a routine autopsy cannot be performed. My skills also include being able to, in many cases, determine cause of death. This makes me indispensable to law enforcement. Agent Booth realized that and promised me full participation in the cases from that point onward. On that contingency, I accepted and agreed to work with him again, availing my services as well as those of my team at the Jeffersonian.

But I would never say it has been easy.

His term for us, "Squints", wasn't an affectionate one. Many in law enforcement call us that because apparently we squint at things. I was offended by his callous nickname of me. "Bones". Apparently I didn't have a name. I was defined to him by what I worked with. I don't go around calling him "killer". Is calling me Dr. Brennan that difficult? Well, at least he doesn't call me some derogatory or sexist pet name. I can be thankful for that. And I find that, now, I actually do not mind it. But I cannot imagine allowing anyone else to ever call me that.

In the beginning, I had little respect for his methods in solving crimes. He professes to use his gut instinct. That goes against all I've been taught. In my line of work, I look at facts, hard evidence. Numbers, figures, bones. Things that can be measured and quantified. What I may feel doesn't matter when I'm working a case of any kind, and can, in fact, hinder my ability to be objective. I will not give into conjecture or emotions, which may alter or influence my findings.

But now I've seen the value of his instincts. I believe he's seen the value of my approach. We share a mutual respect and consider ourselves "partners". Disagreements surely lie ahead, but we have a foundation from which to be able to resolve conflicts now. A foundation that isn't 100 strictly professional.

I don't feel comfortable discussing my private life or my deepest thoughts. But I will say that Agent Seeley Booth has been there for me in some very rough times and desperate moments. I hope he can say the same for me someday, as I've been trying to develop my interpersonal skills.

During this past year, I've learned more than I ever thought I would about everything. The world, life, people. I've learned that, sometimes, the way I feel does matter. That not everyone I care about abandons me. That some things are worth caring about enough to risk one's life for.

And that heroes who value honor and justice do exist. Psychological bonds defy logic, rationality, and propriety.

I've learned how Seeley Booth takes his coffee. How he likes his steak cooked. What radio stations he likes, which ones he doesn't. How he hates it when people cut him off in traffic to such a degree that he memorizes that person's license plate number for future reference. No matter how tired he is, he doesn't let me drive.

I've come to realize that even though he served in the U.S. Army Rangers, 75th Regiment as a sniper, he deplores violence. He has a special hatred for those who seek to harm children. This may partly be because he has a four-year-old son, named Parker, who he adores. The cases involving children are always the toughest, though, even for "squints" like me and my team in the lab.

Booth's favorite kind of pie is apple. He doesn't like birds, especially large ones. I'm not sure why that is. I think he must dislike how they can be taught to mimic speech. Some phobias are not easily understood. Relaxation, for Booth, involves restoring classic cars. And having sex. Not necessarily in that order. Not that I know that first-hand. It was a comment he made once. I personally find doing puzzles relaxing. That and listening to world music. Piecing together skulls also puts me in a Zen-like state, where I am unaware of the passing of time, and feel great accomplishment upon completion.

Speaking of which, there is a fragmented skull that requires my attention at present. So that is all.

I've probably said too much already.

And my publisher also wanted me to "plug" my first book, "Bred in the Bone" and the soon-to-be-announced second novel. I don't know what "plugging" is, but I do hope you all enjoy my book. The next one, I've been told, is a page-turner. I think that's what was said. I'm not that good with metaphors.

--Jen ( CSIBonesFanGirl at Forensic Files, the site dedicated to "Bones" and "CSI" also proud creator and manager of "The Circle of Bones web ring", bringing Bones related sites together. )


End file.
